Atmospheric Water Technology, Inc, a United States-based manufacturer of Watermaker, which is used to produce purified drinking water from atmospheric air, is making its foray into the Indian market.
The company is setting up three centres across the country in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad which will cater to clients from the pharamceuticals, textiles and cement industries.
"We have received a lot of inquiries from the defence sector as well and are looking towards providing them with our units," said Dan Zimmerman, president and chief executive officer, Atmospheric Water Technology, which owns the intellectual property rights of this product.
"If the operations in India go as we have planned, we estimate a revenue of $5 million in the first year of operations," said Zimmerman. An investment of approximately $250,000 has gone into the Indian venture, he added.
Pallan Katgara, president, Watermaker Asia, the parent company of Watermaker India, said: "In a country such as ours, water is a scarce resource and Watermaker could go a long way in assisting and providing solutions to water scarcity. As water is created out of the 'air we breathe' the Watermaker systems can be installed almost anywhere."
"Although humidity and temperature determine the output, typically the cost of a litre of water produced by Watermaker can be as little as 55 paise," added Katgara.
The units are available in a number of variations depending on their capacity and functions.
The Watermaker technology works on the 'reverse osmosis' or the condensation principle and generates pure drinking water from air.
"The water produced in that way meets the standards specified by the World Health Organisation and the European Union," Katgara added.
The process of water generation requires electricity or some alternate sources of energy to condense, collect, filter and dispense water.
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